Staffordshire Schools Football Association

The information below shows confirmed fixtures for each age group and those games that have still to be arranged. It should help with planning for parents.

U14 B

20th Jan v Warwickshire H

27^th Jan  v Shropshire H

3^rd Feb v Leicestershire H

24^th Feb v Worcestershire A

9^th March v West Midlands H

23^rd March v Shropshire A

TBA v Leicestershire A

U15 B

2^nd March v West Midlands H

16^th March v Shropshire H

U16 B

8^th Feb v North Yorkshire H ESFA Semi Final

10^th Feb v Warwickshire H

24^th Feb v Warwickshire A

2^nd March V Shropshire A

TBA v West Midlands A

TBA v Shropshire H

U18 B

8th Feb Durham or Lancashire H ESFA semi Final

24^th Feb v Shropshire H

TBA v Shropshire A

U14 G

9^th March v West Midlands H 6-00pm KO

23^rd March v Shropshire H

TBA v Shropshire A

U16 G

9^th March v West Midlands A

TBA v Worcestershire H and A

Tomorrow night the Under 15 Boys

Players shouldtravel to Southam Leisure Cetre to take on Warwickshire Schools inan MCF fixture hoping to maintain their 100% record. Manager Nei Davies has selected the following squad:.Usual dress code applies.

George Lenton GK

George Taylor GK

Mason Pickering

Matt Cutler

Alfie Clarke

Jack Bostock

Lewis Hassall

Rafferty Winnall

Sol Ashworth (Captain)

Will Finlay

Todd Alcock

James Plant

Euan Wade

Archie England

Adam Cockbill

Kyle Corns

Welsh Road West, Southam CV47 0JW

On Monday night the U14 Boys also entertain Warwickshire at home at Stafford Town with a 7-00pm KO  Players should report for 6-00pm and usual dress code applies. There will be a £3 admission charge,  £2 concesssions.

Manager Dan Dawson names the following squad;

Travis Ziglam

Tom Taylor

Jacob Dannen

Joe Davies

Ethan Bracher

Fin Murray

Dan Hughes

Doug Hughes

Ronnie Wakelin

Lucas sant

Charlie King

Hayden Cordall

Dylan Scott

Owen Cantrell

Jacob Turner

Staffordshire Schools FA have reached the semi final of the ESFA Inter County cupwith two age groups for the very first time. The reward for victory over South Yorkshire (U18B) and Cardiff and the Vale (U16B) are two home ties.

The Under 18 boys will face the winners of the Durham v Lancashire semi final and the Under 16 boys will play North Yorkshire Schools FA. It is hoped that both games will be played at Stafford Town FC on Saturday the 8th of February with afternoon KO's. More details will follow.

The Under 16 boys played Cardiff and the Vale in the Quarter Final of the ESFA Inter County Trophy at Stafford Town on Saturday. It was the first meeting between the two Associations and it turned out to be an epic encounter from both teams who gave of their all in a quest for a place in the semi finals of the competition.

The opening skirmishes were equal as both sides tried to come to terms with the swirling wind with contrasting styles of play.Staffordshire gained a degree of control and the pace of their left flank caused Cardiff problems so it was no surprise when a rapid counter attack saw Joe Morley freed and he fired in a cross shot giving the keeper no hope and Staffordshire the lead.. As Staffordshire gained sway of the midfield area with Charlie Pearsall and Callum Niven being imperius it was surprising that Cardiff enjoyed their best spell of the game and came close to an equaliser.

The second half saw a well balanced game but our own rocketman Eden Bailey increased the lead with a goal out of nothing when he disposessed a dithering centre half rounded the keeper and smashed the ball home from the narrowest of angles. The Staffordshire boys looked comfortable in possession but Cardiff were detrmined and clawed their way back into the game when a momentary lapse of concentration in the Staffordshire defence allowed them a score. For the first time in the game the Staffordshire boys looked nervous and Cardiff gained the upperhand.

The turning point of the game arrived midway through the second half when a Cardiff long ball was not cleared and a Cardiff forward fired the ball against the post, along the goal line and off the other post to be hacked clear by a desperate Staffordshire boot.As the game ebbed and flowed the tension grew and into the last ten Jack Thomas who had been so influential since his introduction to the game won a corner. Charlie Pearsall drilled the ball to the back post where man of the match Morgan Payne fired home.

Cardiff now threw caution to the wind and resorted to getting the ball forward into the Staffordshire box as quickly as possible but Joe Baxter and Huw Emery repulsed everything thrown at them and in the dying embers Eden Bailey sprinted clear to round the keeper and score his second and Staffordshire;s fourth.

This was a well deserved win and the boys have been rewarded with a home tie against North Yorkshire who dis[psed of Merseyside.

It would be remiss if the support of both sets of spectators was not mentioned and theway that they encouraged their players was brilliant and it was heartwarming to see both sets of players warmly applauded by all at the end of the game. This was schoolboy football at its very best.

The Under 14 boys made the journey up the M6 to Darwen FC to meet Lancashire in the Quarter Final of the ESFA Inter County Trophy. They had written a little piece of history in being the first U14 squad to achieve a quarter final place and were hoping after a really good win against South Yorkshire that they would be able to move forward.

Lancashire were ahead within the first two minutes with a goal that caught Staffordshire cold and the sheer physique of the majority of the :Lancashire boys as well as excellent technical ability caused major problems in the opening minutes. However Staffordshire are not short of quality and they started to impose their passing game on the tie and from such a spell Dylan Scott was freed and although with plenty to do he struck a beautiful cross shot into the net to level the tie. Minutes later Staffordshire were ahead after a corner caused mayhem in the Lancashire rearguard and a defender put through his own goal.

Unfortunately despite a brilliant save from Travis Ziglam the follow up was rifled home and minutes later Lancashire led after a sweeping move down the left saw a tremendous cross field ball volleyed in by the Lancashire right winger.Staffordshire were in the game and created some half chances that they failed to convert leaving them 3-2 down at half time.

The second half was attritional with Lancashire dominating possession and only allowing Staffordshire the briefest of glances at their goal. Ronny Wakelin led the midfield battle but to no avail as Lancashire wrapped up the game with a fourth goal two minutes from time.

The Staffordshire boys should hold their heads up high as they gave all to the cause but were beaten by a better team on the day. They will now need to concentrate on trying to win the MCF title and they have three up coming home fixtures starting on the 20th of January against Warwickshire.

A specia; word of thanks to the wonderful support of the parents which helped the boys perform so well.As a County we depend on you.

The Under 18 Boys travelled to Stocksbridge Park Steels FC in Sheffield to take on South Yorkshire Schools in an Inter County Quarter Final tie. The game was played on a very heavy pitch which had not been rolled and which made close control challenging.

Staffordshire started brightly with Oli Waddison's direct running causing problems and when a powerful shot was parried and fell to Christian Blanchette he fired over. South Yorkshire were posing few problems due to the dominanace of the central defensive pairing of Josh Lewis and Owen Turner. Staffordshire took the lead from an excellent free kick from Oliver Puttnam when Oli Waddison was hacked down. Staffordshire were now dominant as South Yorkshire were unable to gain possession and several Staffordshire players were the subject of horrendous challenges in the desperate efforts of the home side to keep Staffordshire at bay.

Out of the blue South Yorkshire found an equaliser when in their first meaningful attack a deep cross to the back post was knocked back and in a melee of bodies South Yorkshire scrambled the ball home. The home side then had their best spell of the game but when they were gaining a degree of control Staffordshire disposessed them close to their own area and four passes later Dave Perreira swept the ball home to give Staffordshire a 2-1 half time lead.

Staffordshire started the second half on the front foot and when Max Dixon was played in  he raced clear to beat the keeper to extend the lead with an excellent finish. However South Yorkshire responded to score a second goal and leave the game well balanced but a second strike from Max put Staffordshire clear and such was his presence that he hit both bar and post in search of his hat trick.

Staffordshire won by 4-2 to move into the last four of the nationals for the second time in four years and will be hoping for a home draw and an opportunity to reach the final.

As the end of the year is a few hours away now is perhaps a good time for reflection on the past twelve months and give recognition to all those who allow Staffordshire School's Football Association to thrive. Our volunteers who run our County representative boys and girls team deserve special praise particularly when so many Counties and districts find it difficult to recruit suitable personnel to run teams. Staffordshire are blessed in this area and thanks go to Mark, Greg and Matt for the U18 Boys, Bailey Oz Minch and Brom for the U16 Boys, Kieran and Oz for the U16 Girls, Dan, Lee and Mackenzie for the U14 Boys (Not forgetting emergency manager Rob) U15 Boys Neil and Liam and last but not least the U14 Girls Dan and Lee.

No games would take place without our match officials and Staffordshire have the best in the country as regards committment to the cause. They are a superb bunch of guys who give of their time selflessly and without whom we would be lost. They are ably led and co-ordinated by Bill Quirk, thank you gentlemen all.

Stafford Town FC is our spiritual home after a nomadic existense and Gordon Evans was instrumental in supporting us and giving us a base from which to play. Very few, if any, have such fantastic facilities for all of their home games and the staff of the club who are at every home game to welcome us are a special group of people. They are led by Keith ;Motty; Mottershead with admirable support from Joe, Paul, Mick Des and Mia who make it one of the most welcoming places imaginable. Tony Dale at Stafford Borough Council and his team of Park Rangers, Bill, Charlotte and Mark ensure that nothing ever goes amiss and the pitch is always in pristine condition for our matches.

Mark Warren is a man of many talents and his support over a whole raft of tasks ensures that the Association runs smoothly. He is a jack of all trades and master of them all and without his expertise and commitment we would struggle to be so effective.

Martin Chilver has taken over the running of the Individual Schools competitions one of the biggest jobs and has ensured the smooth running of such despite some horrendous conditions. We are grateful to schools who support our competitions and give boys and girls opportunities to play against schools that they would not normally meet  The great pity is that not more schools take part as currently only sixty per cent of our secondary /middle schools do so.'

Finall the most important people of all, the players and their parents. We hope that we give a really positive experience to all of our players, both boys and girls. as we believe we help them gain a broad spectrum of skills socially as well as physically and trust we give all players the most disciplined environment to reach their potntial.

Staffordshire are fortunate to have an absolutely brilliant group of parents through all of our age groups who are so supportive of their children and everything that we try to achieve with them. Without that support we would not be able to survive and continue to provide great experiences for the boys and girls of Staffordshire. We are proud of you all for buying into our culture and hope that continues for many years to come.

We salute you all.

May Staffordshire SFA wish all our volunteers, supporters, parents and players a HAPPY,HEALTHY NEW YEAR.

@staffsschoolsfa will allow all to follow what is going on and will supplement the information available on the website.

Follow the account which is being run by Under 15 team Manager Bailey Evans.